Nintendo Company Ltd. Is one of the, if not the, biggest video game companies in the world. With a net income in 2024 of $3.9 billion dollars (https://www.statista.com/statistics/216625/net-income-of-nintendo-since-2008/), Nintendo represents a significant portion of the video game and entertainment industry. One of Nintendo’s biggest franchises, Pokémon, represents a significant portion of Nintendo’s profits, with a reported 480 million units of Pokémon-related software sold by 2023. (https://corporate.pokemon.co.jp/en/aboutus/figures/).
The world of Pokémon revolves around players capturing and training creatures known as Pokémon (short for "pocket monsters") to battle against others. Players explore various regions, catching Pokémon with special tools known as Poké Balls, training them, and battling in turn-based combat scenarios. The gameplay loop of capturing, raising, and battling these creatures has become an iconic part of gaming culture.
Enter Palworld, developed by Pocketpair. Palworld was officially announced in 2021 and entered early access in 2024. The game offers a visually similar concept to Pokémon, with creature-collecting mechanics that allow players to capture, ride, and battle "Pals"—characters that bear a resemblance to Pokémon. Rather than Poké Balls, Palworld allows the player to throw “Pal Spheres” at Pals to capture and collect them.
In September 2024, Nintendo and The Pokemon Company filed a patent infringement lawsuit in Tokyo, Japan against Pocketpair. The lawsuit claims that Pocketpair has infringed several Nintendo patents with game mechanics used in Palworld. Per Automaton Media, one such patent may be Japanese Patent No. 7545191. (https://automaton-media.com/en/news/whats-the-killer-patent-nintendo-is-suing-palworld-for-japanese-patent-attorney-offers-in-depth-analysis/). The Patent relates back to a priority date in early 2021 and covers a game mechanic of capturing monsters by throwing an object to capture or summon a monster in a field state, specifically outside of a battle game state. Previously, Pokémon games required players to enter a separate game state where the player is locked into a “battle” mode with an opposing creature. In this mode, the player is enabled to capture or fight the monster. In Palworld, this is not the case. This is one of the unique features of Palworld, where all battle and capture mechanics occur in a seamless game state with exploration mechanics.
To analyze the possibility of infringement, we take the broadest, independent claims from Patent 7545191. If Palworld does not infringe any of these independent Claims, it follows that the dependent Claims are also not infringed. Claim 1 is one such independent claim, and reads as follows:
1. On the computer, when a first category group including a plurality of types of capture items for capturing a field character arranged on a field in a virtual space is selected based on an operation input of pressing an operation button, the player character in the virtual space is made to take a stance to release the capture item, and when a second category group including a plurality of types of combat characters that engage in combat is selected, the player character in the virtual space is made to take a stance to release the combat character; determining a direction of aim within the virtual space based on a directional input; further selecting, based on an operation input using an operation button different from the operation button , the capture item included in the first category group when the first category group is selected, and the combat character included in the second category group when the second category group is selected; based on an operation input of releasing the operation button that has been pressed when causing the player character to perform the ready action , when the capture item is selected, the player character is caused to perform an action of releasing the selected capture item in the aiming direction, and when the combat character is selected, the player character is caused to perform an action of releasing the selected combat character in the aiming direction; when the capture item is released and hits the field character, a capture success determination is made as to whether or not the capture is successful; When the capture success determination is affirmative, the field character hit by the capture item is set to a state in which the field character is owned by the player; The game program causes a battle between the combat character and the field character on the field to commence when the combat character is released into a location where the combat character can fight with the field character.
From an initial observation, it appears Palworld could be facing some trouble. However, it should be remembered that Palworld must violate each and every limitation of at least one claim to violate the patent. Thus, each and every limitation of the above claim must be infringed by Palworld for Palworld to violate Claim 1. It will therefore come down to claim interpretation to determine Nintendo’s or Pocketpair’s success. For example, does the claim require the player character to take a stance to release a capture item/combat character before selecting the capture item/combat character? If so, Palworld may be in the clear, as Palworld allows players to select their capture item/combat character prior to taking a ready stance. Further, does the claim require that the combat character and field character must engage in battle when the combat character is “released into a location where the combat character can fight the field character”? If so, Palworld further may not infringe, as Palworld allows combat characters to be released near field characters without combat engagement, so long as the player character does not engage the field character themselves or the field character is not already in an aggressive state.
These are just a couple examples of interpretations which may be taken. Ultimately, the claims’ interpretations must be determined in Court in a claim construction hearing. The success or failure of the lawsuit will hinge heavily upon the claim interpretations reached.
This has been an overview of just one of the potential patent infringement allegations Nintendo and The Pokémon Company may be asserting against Pocketpair. Patent litigation is a lengthy and costly process, and we are likely to learn much more about Nintendo’s allegations in the months to come.
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